Showing posts with label teachers unite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teachers unite. Show all posts

Thursday, December 11, 2014

FULL COURT PRESS: Spend Saturday With Teachers Unite: Educate, Don't Incarcerate




FULL COURT PRESS AGAINST  
#SchoolPushout #Criminalization #School2Prison  
#PoliceViolence #MassIncarceration #PrisonIndustrialComplex  
#Apathy #Racism #WhiteSupremacy
 
Saturday, December 13th
2-6pm
Manny Cantor Center
197 East Broadway, NYC

Thanks to your incredible support, we have surpassed our goal of $10,000 to help schools practice transformative justice and decrease the suspensions that lead young people into the School-to-Prison Pipeline.

Can you help us to reach $12,000 by Saturday's FULL COURT PRESS Event?  


 
We know that many of you will be heading out to the Millions March NYC happening on Saturday, and we hope you can also  
come by the FULL COURT PRESS Against #SchoolPushout with friends & family to cheer on all of the teams and win prizes!

   
Volunteer to work at the event! email Katie@teachersunite.net for information

Can't attend but want to support? 
You can make a donation at teachersunite.causevox.com 

Thank you!

=====
Dignity in Schools Statements on Ferguson + Eric Garner Decisions

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Today: Teachers Unite Brooklyn Restorative Justice Meetup + Workshop

I'm going to this event today with Mike Schirtzer from Leon Goldstein HS, though I have to leave early because we are doing a tuneup rehearsal at the RTC for this weekend's Damn Yankees shows. Mike has been totally captivated by the work of Teachers Unite. (I am a proud original member and supporter since its inception.) There is another one in Manhattan on Monday. See below.

Why restorative justice? I rarely had a child suspended and in fact used my own version of RJ to keep peace in my classroom. I think my approach to most kids helped keep me in the classroom for so long.  I felt suspension and or removal made me feel like a weak teacher. I wanted to have the attitude that I could deal with every child - even if not perfect I wanted that sense of confidence in myself.

Teachers Unite, founded by Sally Lee, has done amazing work in this area. Imagine a teacher and a child have a major conflict. I heard a story on NPR today about a battle between a librarian at Lincoln HS and a student who ended up suspended for 30 days. From what she said she did I can understand how a teacher would get crazy. But imagine if they could sit down with each other in some sort of setting to deescalate things. Now we know some students have such serious issues that things may never get resolved. In my one year as a special ed cluster (1979-80) working with in an emotionally and neurologically impaired unit in my school, kids were so off the wall, after over a dozen years of teaching I was still shocked. One of the great teachers in that unit told me there is a reason for why kids sometimes go nuts and as a teacher, being attuned and sensitive to the WHY of behavior is important.

Here are the Brooklyn and Manhattan announcements sent by Anna Bean who works with Sally. (Anna and her husband stopped by our house during Sandy recovery to offer a hand and that was how we got our dead - even though a month old - washing machine and dryer out to the curb.) Note the Dec. 13 fundraiser.

Brooklyn Restorative Justice Meetup + Workshop
***With Math & Science Breakout Group!***

Thursday, November 20th
4:30 to 6pm
 

Hosted by Brooklyn Frontiers High School
112 Schermerhorn Street
2/3/4/5 to Borough Hall |A/C/F/N/R to Jay St. MetroTech | G to Hoyt Schermerhorn
 
 Please RSVPanna@teachersunite.net
All are welcome—school staff, students, parents, community members—& food will be provided!
Flyer attached.
_______________________________________________
 

Manhattan Restorative Justice Meetup + Workshop

***NEW DATE!***
Monday, November 24th 
4:30 to 6pm
Hosted by Lower Manhattan Community Middle School
26 Broadway, 7th Floor Library (entrance at 81 New St.)
4/5 to Bowling Green | N/R to Whitehall | J/Z to Broad | 2/3 to Wall St.

  Please RSVP: anna@teachersunite.net
All are welcome—school staff, students, parents, community members—& food will be provided!
Flyer attached.
 
 
Join the FULL COURT PRESS against #SchoolPushout! 

Help us raise $10,000 to help 50 schools practice transformative justice this year and decrease the suspensions that lead young people to the School to Prison Pipeline. 

In a series of 3-on-3 half-court games, teams of educators and supporters will be dribbling, jumping, fast breaking champions in the pursuit of transformed public schools and empowered student voices. 

Saturday, December 13th
2-6pm
Manny Cantor Center

197 East Broadway in Manhattan

Donate at teachersunite.causevox.com

Spread the word on social media
Bring your friends and family on December 13th
Volunteer at the event – email Katie@teachersunite.net for information

Thank you!!!
 
 

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

[Teachersunite] /// Friday: Happy Hour FUNdraiser! /// + RJ Meetup Updates


If you heard This American Life's "Is This Working?” episode last week, check out TU Director Sally Lee’s piece in Huffington Post: “Learning Our Place” < http://huff.to/1EdA7zU



and then Come kick off our Fall FUNdraiser!
Help schools practice transformative justice* and end the suspensions that increase students’ chances of dropping out or being incarcerated
Fall HAPPY HOUR FUNdraiser

Friday, November 7th
5 to 8pm
at Dive Bar
732 Amsterdam Ave @ 96th Street
1/2/3/B/C to 96th
$15 for a sweet Teachers Unite wristband = happy hour prices all evening!

All are welcome (21+) 
Let us know you’re coming!
Or on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1ylFnhD

Can’t make it? 
Donate to our Full Court Press Against #SchoolPushout here:

* Transformative justice is a philosophy that looks at what harm was done, and focuses on how to best repair that harm by giving the victim of the conflict and the community in which the conflict happened a voice and a role in the process of achieving justice.

Flyer attached





_______________________________________________


And join us at
 Restorative Justice Meetups & Workshops
 in Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn next month! 
Info & Flyers below...




Queens Restorative Justice Meetup

Wednesday, November 12th
4:30 to 6pm 
Hosted by Voyages Preparatory High School
45-10 94th Street in Elmhurst
7 to 90th Street / M/R to Elmhurst Ave

 Please RSVPanna@teachersunite.net
All are welcome—school staff, students, parents, community members—& food will be provided!
Flyer attached.
 
_______________________________________________


Manhattan Restorative Justice Meetup

*****POSTPONED! NEW DATE COMING SOON*****
Hosted by Lower Manhattan Community Middle School

_______________________________________________


Brooklyn Restorative Justice Meetup 

Thursday, November 20th
4:30 to 6pm
 

Hosted by Brooklyn Frontiers High School
112 Schermerhorn Street
2/3/4/5 to Borough Hall |A/C/F/N/R to Jay St. MetroTech | G to Hoyt Schermerhorn
 
 Please RSVPanna@teachersunite.net
All are welcome—school staff, students, parents, community members—& food will be provided!
Flyer attached.

_______________________________________________


and don’t forget: 

Media & Storytelling Meetup!

Come build a community of educators committed to principled storytelling, 
share media tools and skills, and contribute to story-based campaigns for social justice.

Thursday, November 13th
5-7pm

@ Teachers Unite 
90 John Street, Suite 308
in Lower Manhattan
2/3/4/5/J/Z/A/C to Fulton

Please rspv: anna@teachersunite.net
Flyer attached


_______________________________________________


Anna Bean
Campaign Coordinator
90 John St., Suite 308
New York, NY 10038
Become a member of Teachers Unite or make a Donation!
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
& watch our documentary Growing Fairness

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Sally Lee on Resorative Justice

This comment from Sally deserves a post of its own. I was arguing in my original post that the contract is the only way to solidify and codify things so the current and future DOE can't as easily shirk issues like discipline. The Dignity in Schools Campaign is asking for full-time Restorative Justice Coordinators in 20 schools -- do you think this might be more useful that the money spend on PD? Guess what Carmen, do all the PD in the world. If there is no system of control in the schools it is like spitting in the wind. And let's look at it this way -- PD is not only about curriculum. It is about how a teacher can deal with a class beyond curriculum - and how to deal with some kids who are having difficulty in that environment. So let's look at a Restorative Justice coordinator as a variation of PD.


Sally Lee has left a new comment on your post "UFT Contract - What's Missing - How About Discipl...":
Thanks for the shout-out Norm! Just so your readers are clear: Teachers Unite is the only educator organization in the Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York (DSC-NY).

The DSC-NY, a youth-led coalition, has been meeting with DOE to discuss the need to mandate guidance interventions before suspensions, provide trainings to staff, and end suspensions for defying or disobeying authority—a minor misbehavior that is the second most common reason for suspensions and, as you can imagine, results in an alarming disproportionate punishment of Black and Latino students as well as those with disabilities.

TU’s presence in those meetings has been consistent, but always in a supporting role to young people of color. Dozens of our members, all UFT members, have participated in the campaign’s planning as well as the campaign’s discussions with DOE and UFT staff. I say this to be clear that “Sally and the gang” doesn’t really sum it up! I actually have never been to these meetings with officials, not only because I like to rush home to my young sons at the end of the day, but because it’s important that UFT members are the ones voicing their support of DSC-NY demands—and imploring UFT staff, who are accountable to the membership, to come around on this issue as an authentic ally to the youth who are most impacted by the racial injustice of policing and harsh punishment.

Also, there is a campaign demand that is particularly close to Teachers Unite’s heart for the very reasons you mention in your post. DSC-NY is calling on the DOE to fully fund and support implementation of the following five key elements of school-wide restorative practices starting at 20 schools this September:

1. A Full-time Position of Restorative Coordinator, with the sole focus of coordinating a positive, restorative climate and approach to discipline at the school, including overseeing implementation of the other four key elements below (in the case of campus schools where multiple small schools share the same building, the budget should allow for one coordinator per school, not one per campus).

2. A School-wide Strategic Plan with participation of all school stakeholders that integrates pre-existing behavior-related strategies, such as Fairness Committees, conflict resolution, peer mediation and peer mentoring, into a restorative framework and set of values, and integrates that framework into existing school structures, such as advisory periods, town hall meetings, after school programs, and School Leadership Teams.

3. Ongoing Training for All Stakeholders, including faculty, counselors and other school employees, School Safety Agents, and a core group of student and parent leaders who can develop the skills to train their peers.

4. Youth and Parent Leadership in the process of planning and implementing restorative practices in school, such as forming Student Leadership Councils, engaging students and parents to be a part of trainings for school staff, and engaging students in producing videos, skits, posters and other materials to promote restorative approaches among their peers.

5. Systematic Collection and Monitoring of Data in collaboration with administrators, faculty, students and parents to develop a common set of indicators and protocols for collecting data to help understand the implementation and results of restorative practices in the pilot schools.

You can read more about how we outline this kind of whole school support, and examples of it in action, in our case study found here: http://www.dignityinschools.org/files/DSC-NY_CaseStudy_2013.pdf

We are promoting and supporting the philosophy and practice of restorative justice school by school, because we know while it’s important to have support for these shifts come from the top—nothing’s going to work unless the rank-and-file educators, parents and students are making changes from the ground up. I invite your readers who are UFT members to join us at TU in order to augment the voices of educators speaking out against the damaging and racist impact of punitive discipline policies.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Teachers Unite Meeting Saturday, noon at Ya-Ya

I can't make the TU meeting due to the MORE meeting

I am an original TU member. I just don't have the time to get involved deeply in the work they do ... I am more focused right now on the work MORE is doing in the union and the work Change the Stakes is doing on testing. But the work Teachers Unite does is very important. This Saturday they are focusing in the School Leadership Teams -- which I believe is a key to democratizing our school system by empowering staff and parents.
 
Note the great graphics below.


Info found here too: http://teachersunite.net/node/88

Join Teachers Unite as we make democratic school leadership a fun and lovely topic!
Schools Are Us!How does decision-making work in NYC education policy? What levers of power do we have under mayoral control? How does knowing this stuff guide our organizing strategies when it comes to educational activism? Answer these questions through conversation with NYC’s coolest educators and community allies at our next Member Meeting.

Saturday, April 26th
Noon-2pm

@ The YA-YA Network
224 West 29th Street, 14th Floor
A/C/E/N/Q/R/1/2/3to 34th St.

Schools Are Us!

Democracy only works if you #useit
"Schools Are Us" is an instructional guide and grassroots organizing tool from Teachers Unite about the power that parents, students, and educators have to make change in their schools. 

We want to share it with you! 

Created in collaboration with CUP and designer Silas Munro, this issue of Making Policy Public includes a fold-out poster that lays out the different levels of decision makers who govern NYC’s schools. School and organizations across the city are using Schools Are Us to map out organizing strategies and engage school stakeholders in political education about school governance structures.

"This is the guide for parents to demystify the governance structure of the DOE, the largest school district in the U.S. For a parent to interact with and understand the governance structure [of the DOE] they need easy access. This is that entry point... This poster is it!"
-Rob Bowen, educational activist


You can see the whole guide here
To request hard copies for your school or organization, write to sally@teachersunite.net


In addition to the guide, Teachers Unite has developed complementary tools and resources, including:
  • BINGO game (attached) about School Leadership Teams, Comprehensive Education Plans, and NYC school system history. The answers to all the questions (plus a description of Presidents Councils, the Chancellor’s job description, and more) can be found in the guide
  • Workshops tailored to your school or organization about the guide, the power of SLTs, and more. For more information, visit our website.
  • Your Schools, Your Voicea report by Teachers Unite and the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center about the impact of Mayoral Control on community participation in schools.


Sunday, April 20, 2014

Teachers Unite: What's Your Story? Features Old Pal Matthew Guldin

We were at Sally Lee and Josh Heisler's wedding when right there in front of my eyes was Matthew Guldin who I hadn't seen for a while. We began jumping around like teenagers. He and I were in the same political group in the 70s/80s - The Coalition of NYC School Workers and hadn't seen each other in a while. Turns out that Josh and Matthew had worked together. Then he retired and has been working with Teachers Unite, which Sally founded. In this bio they even included a photo of me with Matt at one of Teacher Unite's events. Whenever we see each other we just break out laughing -- we always had so much fun. Gee, I even remember when Matt had red hair. And I had an afro.





Day 4 of our membership drive









Our members say that Teachers Unite keeps them motivated to stay in the classroom.



It is vital that we support them to continue.  


Your donation or membership dues will:

* Ensure that 10 NYC schools hire Restorative Justice Coordinators through our Pilot School Campaign targeting the DOE

* Increase the number of TU workshops that train NYC educators to use and promote restorative practices

* Send our members to Washington DC to share their stories and support student testimony to get cops and guns out of U.S. schools


Together we can transform the popular idea of what it means to be a teacher. Please join us
Thank you for your support!

What's Your Story?

Matthew Guldin



Well, I never planned on being a teacher, it just hit me, in the form of the Vietnam War and the draft that would snatch us boys after high school or college. Not being a conscientious objector, nor wanting to move to Canada or jail or go to med, dental, law school or work in a defense plant, my only out was the classroom. So, I hurriedly took ed credits in my last term of Bklyn College and over the summer of '68 and joined the ranks on Sept 6, 1968. I had started an education career which has spanned most of the last 45 years and has seen me involved, happily, in most of the progressive/radical initiatives of these years. 

From the struggle for Black and Puerto Rican community control of schools in the late '60s to the alternative school movement of the '60s and '70s, to the original small schools movement of the '80s and '90s led by Debbie Meier and Ted Sizer, (before it was corrupted by the Bloomberg/Klein 'franchising' of our movement in 2001), to the fight to keep the 'Regents free' 5  year waiver that Consortium Schools were granted in 1995, I've been there and participated actively, even taking leadership at times, in these struggles. At the same time, I was a delegate to the
UFT's Delegate Assembly for 10 years and a Chapter Chair for 5. 

Right now, I'm focusing my energy on moving the city's discipline policies from taking a Zero Tolerance approach to behavior infractions to one which bases itself in building each school into being a caring community and using restorative approaches. I believe that this 'sea change' will help us disrupt the School to Prison Pipeline. This is the reason that I've joined Teachers Unite. I've seen too many poor, Black and Latin teens drop out/be pushed out of schools and into the jails over the years. The increasing demonization of Black and Latin@ youth throughout our country and in particular in NYC, since the 1989 frame up of the Central Park 5, has led to the schools being semi militarized and zero tolerance policies being adopted as the way to handle "anti - social" (rebellious?!) behavior. 

Thank goodness there's a growing coalition across the country which is reversing this trend and moving schools and school districts to transform their buildings from being alienating institutions to caring communities where kids and adults can grow together academically and emotionally. Through participation in the Dignity in Schools Campaign (DSC), I get to do this work as a Teachers Unite member.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *       


Please donate to Teachers Unite today. 
  


Teachers Unite is the voice of NYC teachers who have limitless hope for the role public schools can have in creating a just society. 

Our members are not only speaking out, they are acting out!
  • They help schools organize Restorative Justice Teams.
  • They collaborate with youth organizations to change the city's School Discipline Code.
  • They produce media and resources that envision a humanistic approach to student discipline.
  • They transform their own school cultures and advocate to the DOE and UFT for help with doing so.
There is no other member organization of teachers doing this work. In fact, young people who meet our members are surprised to learn that there are teachers who don't just want to push students out of school. 
We have to show parents and young people that teachers are opposed to social and economic injustice.  Please click here to add yourself to this movement today!

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Teachers Unite Sat. Feb 8: Restorative Justice and Teacher Unions: What are the connections?

I believe in the Restorative Justice model as an alternative to discipline models in schools. Teachers Unite is showing it can work.

People accuse me of living in a dream world - I've never supported suspending kids or placing all the blame on kids for problems in schools. You know the argument -- "if I could just get rid of the scumbags, as one teacher" recently told me. I'm not interested in blaming kids who are mostly victims. Believe me, I was as frustrated as anyone at times. I felt lucky that I was able to get over most conflicts with kids and restart the relationship. Generally I didn't have lots of trouble with kids but then again I didn't teach in the current climate so I do understand. I recently heard an NPR BBC broadcast talking about world-wide complainst about student behavior and where many commentors pushed for caning. I think RJ is a better choice.

Also a great chance to hear/see via Skype LATU Presidential candidate Alex Caputo-Pearl and Arlene Inouye who is currently serving in an elected position in the union and is running again. I believe there are 9 people running for President. The election is this month.

Teachers Unite did an excellent workshop on Restorative Justice at the More Than a Test Score conference last Saturday.

Restorative Justice and Teacher Unions: 
What are the connections?
 
How can organizing around restorative practices & social justice relate to union work at your school site?
 
A panel & discussion with Union Power Caucus of
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA)
 
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Noon-2pm EST
 
Teachers College
525 W. 120th Street, NYC
1 | A | B | C | D to 125th St.
 
Facilitated by Dr. Lois Weiner, author, The Future of our Schools  
with panelists via Skype:
Alex Caputo-Pearl, Union Power Caucus Candidate for UTLA President
&
Arlene Inouye, Union Power Caucus Candidate for UTLA Treasurer
 
Hosted by Teachers Unite and Endorsed by the New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) and the Movement of Rank & File Educators (MORE)
 
And on Facebook

Sunday, February 2, 2014

[Teachersunite] Restorative Justice & Teacher Unions: Join us Feb 8th!

Featuring Alex Caputo-Pearl, candidate for President of the LA teachers union.


Restorative Justice and Teacher Unions: 
What are the connections?
 
How can organizing around restorative practices & social justice relate to union work at your school site?
 
A panel & discussion with Union Power Caucus of
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA)
 
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Noon-2pm EST
 
Teachers College
525 W. 120th Street, NYC
1 | A | B | C | D to 125th St.
 
Facilitated by Dr. Lois Weiner, author, The Future of our Schools  
with panelists via Skype:
Alex Caputo-Pearl, Union Power Caucus Candidate for UTLA President
&
Arlene Inouye, Union Power Caucus Candidate for UTLA Treasurer
 
Hosted by Teachers Unite and Endorsed by the New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) and the Movement of Rank & File Educators (MORE)
 
And on Facebook


Anna Bean
Campaign Coordinator
90 John St., Suite 308
New York, NY 10038
Become a member of Teachers Unite! 
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
& Watch our new documentary Growing Fairness

Friday, November 30, 2012

Support Teachers Unite "Growing Fairness" Film on School to Prison Pipeline

Talk about school to prison pipeline? I once got a Thanksgiving Day collect call from an upstate prison from one of my favorite former students serving 15 to life (he got out after 28 years) who after a brief conversation handed the phone over to another fave who then told me there were 9 guys from the same buildings in the cell block.

I guess I didn't know it at the time but with some of my toughest kids I must have been doing some restorative justice given that generally I had good relations with these kids, I think because I wasn't judging them, only a specific behavior.


 

Not to preach once again, but there is some value in a teaching career working in one neighborhood school (in my case for 27 years) and learning lots of lessons over time. The ed deform destruction of neighborhood schools and the promotion of a teacher turnover corps (don't be dumb and stay in the classroom, go into ed policy) is making that impossible. Enough preaching.

Sally Lee of Teachers Unite uses the video below to present a project aimed to reverse the trend of turning schools into prison-like atmospheres full of police and metal detectors. TU has re-focused its attempts towards restorative justice, which can help change the climate in the relationships between teachers and children with difficult behavior patterns.

I know that some teachers want more police, suspensions, metal detectors, etc. and I know that things are often out of control. But we do not have rational people running the school system and many schools. Throwing kids out or using extreme punishment on damaged kids has no long term benefit to society or to individual teachers. I felt like a total failure when I failed with some kids and I soared when I was successful -- sorry, I never defined success as raising a test score but as being able to move child emotionally in a more positive direction -- which by the way often --- though not always -- moved the test score too.

Sally's husband Josh Heisler writes of his experience:
I am convinced that working with students and adults to resolve the daily problems that arise in the course of a week in a just and caring way is so much better than a authoritarian, top down approach that you see in most schools. The community that can exist in school is really special and practices like fairness go a long way to build these communities. I've learned that this all takes a lot work, caring communities are hard to build and even harder to maintain. It can get messy and complicated. One thing is for sure, you have to reestablish fairness at a school year after year. Students and teachers have to experience this alternative discipline model before they can see its benefits and appreciate the community it builds.

So give Teachers Unite a hand with this project and one day you might find yourself in the role of Androchles facing an angry lion who has been told of your kindness (I know, I know, this was a stretch).

There are only 16 days left to raise the $20,000 and they are a quarter of the way there. I've already sent in my hundred bucks so I can get the tee-shirt.

Here is the donation web site: http://www.indiegogo.com/GrowingFairness?c=home

And check out this infographic:






Growing Fairness is a short documentary film and companion guide for educators and community members looking to change their school climate for the better. Featuring teachers and students, Growing Fairness will tell a story about school climate, restorative practices and their real impact on young people in New York.

We're so excited about this project that we've already started filming interviews, and before this Indiegogo campaign is through, we will have developed a storyboard for the documentary and outlined the companion toolkit, which will provide concrete resources developed by teachers for school communities to use in making a transformational shift away from suspensions and policing and toward student leadership and community empowerment.

The success of this Indiegogo campaign will determine the quality, scope and impact of Growing Fairness. Your donation will give us the ability to gather more interviews and resources from across the country to give an inspiring look at how whole school districts have taken action and introduced restorative justice to public education. Your donation will also enable us to host screenings and teacher-led workshops with communities across the country, expanding our distribution as well as the impact of the project.

Please help us make our vision a reality. Teachers Unite is a 501(c)(3) organization, so your donations will be tax deductible.

campaign? http://www.indiegogo.com/GrowingFairness/x/1696300?c=home

Quick Update: Michael Fiorillo just sent this:
"Isolation Rooms" in Elementary Schools: Are They Treatment or Punishment?
Take a look at the photo in the story and you'll see that the question posed by the title needn't be asked.

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/isolation-rooms-elementary-schools-are-they-treatment-or-punishment


Monday, October 22, 2012

Teachers Unite: Undemocratic System of Mayoral Control Hurts NYC Schools

My suggestion is radical: put the choice of principal at the school level. They serve at the pleasure of the parents and teachers. In parts of Europe they actually elect their principals. That actually was a plank in the early history of the UFT some people tell me.  --- Norm at Ed Notes.
I love to quote myself.

Great work from Sally Lee and the crew at Teachers Unite. I am proud to have been on the first TU Board way back when. This work may prove to be a strong weapon in our goal to put a stake through the heart of mayoral control by killing the argument deformers use that they are fighting for civil rights. You know what amazes me? That 36% of the teachers actually think they have a power over decision-making at the city level and 80% seem to think they have decision making at the school level. I would think that would be reversed with most teachers saying they have no control given the testing regimen.

I'm also hearing some pushback about relying on School Leadership Teams (SLTs) as a vehicle for school governance. With so many autocratic principals it is real hard for teachers and even parents to carve out a space on these teams.

Here is the Summary and a link to the entire report.

Teachers, Parents and Students Report Having Little Say Over What Happens in Their Schools

Report Asserts that Mayoral Control Disempowers Low-Income Communities of Color, Recommends Reforms

New York, NY – The top-down system of mayoral control over New York City public schools does not serve the best interest of teachers, parents and students, according to a new report from Teachers Unite and the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center. The report, entitled Your Schools, Your Voice, finds that by shutting out teachers, parents, and students from the decision-making process, mayoral control devalues the people who are directly impacted by the school system.

The report analyzes the impact of mayoral control on democratic participation in schools by examining the current school governance bodies, the policies initiated under mayoral control, and the views of three focus groups of a broad range of parents, students.  The report also includes findings from surveys with over 400 teachers across the city. The report, which can be read in full HERE, finds:

·      Teachers have little say over what happens in their schools. 64% of teachers said they had no power in decision-making at the City level, and one in five teachers reported that they have no power over decisions made at their own school.

·      Current mechanisms for teacher input, such as School Leadership Teams and Community Education Councils, are considered powerless under mayoral control.  One in four teachers does not think the School Leadership Team (SLT), a state-mandated committee of school leaders, teachers, parents, and students created to facilitate shared decision-making and management of schools, represents their interests as a stakeholder. One in five teachers does not think the SLT represents the interests of their schools as a whole. And 57% of teachers reported that they had no power to influence decisions through the SLT.

·      Decisions made under mayoral control are not in the best interest of teachers, parents, and students. 94% of teachers disagreed or strongly disagreed with the policy implemented to evaluate and close schools based primarily on standardized test data. Nearly 80% of teachers disagreed or strongly disagreed with Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to impose merit-based pay for teachers. And 92% of teachers disagreed or strongly disagreed with the mayor’s appointment of Cathie Black as chancellor.

·       Parents and students agree with teachers that mayoral control and its policies prevent the community from having effective input. They report seeing the system change dramatically since the onset of mayoral control with the top-down structure preventing decisions through democratic processes. The report finds that parents feel sliced by and excluded from the very governance bodies created for their participation.

The report also asserts that mayoral control disempowers communities of color and low-income communities because it encourages policies that are beneficial to the private sector. By developing charter schools, increasing the use of standardized tests published by private corporations, and eroding worker protections for school staff, low-income communities of color are left with no method of influencing decisions that harm their schools.

Currently, the report states, Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Walcott enjoy a near total control of the New York City school system, with no effective mechanisms in place for input from the teachers, parents, and students. The community remains shut out of the decision-making process, leaving no avenues for recommendations or feedback from the people who are directly impacted. In fact, democratic participation in schools has deteriorated so much that the New York City teachers’ union has described participation as lower now than at any time in the 165-year history of the City school system.

“The research shows that  mayoral control limits democracy and participation in NYC’s schools, “said Alexa Kasdan, Director of Research and Policy at the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center. “We need a system in place that gives teachers, parents, and students a voice in forming important educational policies.”

“The report clearly shows that teachers believe that parents, teachers and youth together should have their voices heard and that is not happening under mayoral control of schools. Instead, policies are being made that are extremely unpopular and against the wishes of the people that they impact most: students, teachers and parents,” said Sally Lee, Executive Director of Teachers Unite.

The report recommends allowing the policy of mayoral control to expire no later than 2015, when it is slated for re-authorization. It also urges the development of an inclusive, democratic system of decision-making in schools designed around community-based responsiveness and accountability. The report recommends reclaiming and empowering School Leadership Teams, where teachers, parents, and students could establish a collaborative leadership model within their schools.

"Your Schools, Your Voice highlights how little is known about how community members can get involved in schools.  For instance, 81% of teachers surveyed were unsure of what Community Education Councils have the power to do, while the former Community School Boards (before mayoral control) were universally known as the sites for local democratic decision-making for neighborhood schools," said Lisa Donlan, President of Community Education Council District 1.

“School Leadership Teams give teachers, parents and students a rare opportunity to come up with a shared vision for public education,” remarked Elana Eisen-Markowitz, a Bronx high school teacher. “We have just started meeting as a new SLT and I’m very excited about our work together.”

A student anonymously quoted in the report suggests that the social and academic benefits of democratic participation in a public institution such as education is not lost on New York youth: “Students should be involved in school and citywide decisions because we’re the ones that are receiving the education so we should have a right in saying how we want it to be. You would probably see less dropouts, less suspensions, and students would probably be more likely to go to college, and it would motivate students to go to school if they had the right to decide how certain things go.”


ABOUT TEACHERS UNITE

Teachers Unite is an independent membership organization of public school educators supporting collaboration between parents, youth and educators fighting for social justice. Teachers Unite organizes teachers around human rights issues that impact New York City public school communities and offers collaborative leadership training for educators, parents, and youth. We believe that schools can only be transformed when educators work with and learn from parents and youth to achieve social and economic justice.

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AT THE URBAN JUSTICE CENTER

The Community Development Project (CDP) at the Urban Justice Center strengthens the impact of grassroots organizations in New York City’s low-income and other excluded communities. We partner with community organizations to win legal cases, publish community-driven research reports, assist with the formation of new organizations and cooperatives, and provide technical and transactional assistance in support of their work towards social justice.

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